


Let's Get Lost Together

by LadyLondonderry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (it's actually a lake house), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, American AU, Beach House, M/M, Minor Zayn Malik/Liam Payne, Misunderstandings, Photographer Harry, Photography, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLondonderry/pseuds/LadyLondonderry
Summary: When Niall had said that he was inviting three other friends for a week up at his family’s lake house, Harry hadn’t realised that one of those people would be Louis.And okay, that knowledge probably wouldn’t have kept him from coming, but at least he would have been a little bit more prepared. Possibly would have worn cooler clothes.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 23
Kudos: 230
Collections: Prompt 4.4: Shot





	Let's Get Lost Together

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "shot". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/shot), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1-3), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/622306139518926848/wordplay-2020-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt).

When Niall had said that he was inviting three other friends for a week up at his family’s lake house, Harry hadn’t realised that one of those people would be  _ Louis. _

And okay, that knowledge probably wouldn’t have kept him from coming, but at least he would have been a little bit more  _ prepared. _ Possibly would have worn cooler clothes.

Niall’s SUV is big, but five college aged guys and all of their stuff are going to be tough to fit in any one vehicle, and unfortunately Harry is last in line to get picked up. When he leaves the house (his parents’, where he’s staying for the summer) with his duffel over one shoulder and his camera case over the other, well that’s when he finds out that none other than Louis Tomlinson is coming, and has apparently already called shotgun.

“Oi, Harry!” Louis yells out the window, his feet up on the dash. “Nice shirt!”

Harry’s worn his comfy flowy pink shirt with white polka dots. It’s a good car shirt because it’s so breathable, but he looks down at it in embarrassment. Is Louis making fun of him for wearing something so feminine as an alpha? He’s not even sure.

“You’re in the back with the lovebirds!” Niall calls as he presses the button to unlatch the trunk.

Harry already knew Liam and Zayn from Niall’s weekly D&D nights during the school year, when they’d order two Jets Pizzas and spread out in the common room of the dorm for approximately six hours of yelling at one another and failing to solve simple puzzles. He can’t say that he’s too excited about being crammed in the back seat with them for the two hour drive up, though, considering they’ve just finally gotten together and their love-soaked scents are overpowering at the moment. 

If it weren’t for the fact that Niall gets car sick whenever he’s not driving, Harry would make him cram back here — at least as a beta he’s not subjected to the torture of their constant pheremones. 

But no. Harry slings his things into the trunk and slides in beside Liam and Zayn, to a chorus of greetings. 

“Anybody want to go through a Starbucks before we leave?” Niall asks, pulling out of the driveway.

“Harry definitely does,” Louis says, turning around in his seat to look at him. “Bet you get one of those super sugary drinks, don’t you? A pink drink or a caramel macchiato, the kind of thing my sisters get.”

Harry is saved from having to figure out a response to that by Zayn speaking up that  _ he _ would like coffee, at which point Niall points out that Zayn tends to fall asleep almost instantly on every road trip so that doesn’t make any sense.

They do end up stopping at Starbucks, and Harry gets an iced coffee with two pumps of caramel, because that’s not  _ too _ girly.

Louis still makes fun of him.

— 

The cabin is small. It’s full of spiders and scratchy furniture that looks about forty years out of date. The floor tilts sideways toward the back of the kitchen and bath, and the pull string in the shower that makes the water hot only lasts about six minutes. 

Harry  _ loves _ it. 

The deck that runs around the outside of the cabin has a crystal clear view of the Higley river flowing at the edge of the property, with a private wooden dock that’s a little wobbly but clearly sturdy. Up around the other side of the road and down the hill is the other dock on Arbuckle pond that sits among lily pads and greenery and gentle waves.

When Niall had said that his grandparents owned a lakehouse, Harry had pictured a hideous McMansion with too many oddly shaped windows and a dirty beach. Nothing could have prepared him for this idyllic little cabin, nestled among pine trees and uneven dirt roads. He’s already seen four deer, caught a frog (briefly), and gotten about five hundred shots of the morning mist drifting across the river at five in the morning from his perch at the edge of the wobbly dock.

Really, the only downside so far is that all of the bedrooms are right next to one another, and Liam and Zayn seem to be making this trip their own personal honeymoon..

It’s not like it’s a  _ problem, _ per se, but Harry, being an alpha, can’t say he’s taking too well to the constant stench in the cabin. Even with all the windows wide and the a/c whirring, he’s been getting a rather constant headache from the smell.

Niall, who’s got the master bedroom to himself (nothing really  _ master _ about it, it’s just the only one with a queen bed), is the furthest one from the happy couple, which Harry once again thinks is unfair because he can’t detect more than a hint of alpha or omega scents. Liam and Zayn have sequestered themselves in the bedroom at the other corner of the house, where they’ve pushed the two twin beds together and clearly are having a rollicking good time.

So that leaves Harry to be stuck in the middle bedroom, the one with bunk beds built into the wall, sharing with none other than Louis Tomlinson. 

Louis’ compact — he’s got those sweet curves stereotypical of omegas, but it’s clear he’s all muscle. He’s a close friend of Niall, having grown up in the same neighborhood and played on the same soccer teams, but for some reason he’s just never warmed to Harry.

Or, he’s warmed to Harry in the same way one warms to siblings. Through teasing and flippant remarks. Often it feels like Louis’ looking right through Harry, and when he  _ does _ take notice of him, Harry’s never quite sure if he’s being mocked or not. 

It’s a weird dynamic, and makes Harry both want to become a cooler person so that there’s nothing for Louis to mock anymore, or to hide whenever he comes around.

— 

The built-in bunk beds in Louis and Harry’s room were definitely built for, well, children. 

And Harry thinks they’re charming. He never had to share a room and always sort of wanted to have a chance to sleep on a top bunk, which worked out well with the fact that when they were all choosing sleeping arrangements, Louis took one look into the room and declared that he was a  _ bottom bunk only _ kind of guy.

The problem with Harry taking the top bunk is, well, he’s a bit tall for it. A child could sit up in bed no problem, but every morning so far, Harry has sat up and hit his head on the ceiling. He’s also not good at getting  _ down, _ sort of awkwardly flailing his feet and legs in the air as he tries to figure out how to turn around on the ladder without falling. 

So, in the end what this means is once Harry’s up and situated in his bunk, he’s not going to be particularly fast about getting down again. It’s a lot of work. 

This morning, he’s lounging in his bunk while scrolling Instagram, very aware of the sounds of Liam and Zayn the next room over and wishing he had brought his headphones up to his bunk with him last night, when the door swings open and Louis walks in. 

“Oh good, you’re awake,” he says. He’s got a coffee mug in his hands that reads  _ World’s Best Grandpa _ on it. “What are you doing today?”

Harry frowns. “Was going to brush my teeth at some point,” he says thoughtfully. 

Louis levels him with a look (which is hard to do because Harry’s about a foot and a half above him at the moment). “Right,” he says. “That it?”

Harry shrugs. “Didn’t have any exact plans. We’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere, it’s not like there’s much going on.”

“That’s what I thought,” Louis says. “Meet me at the car in fifteen minutes, we’re getting out of this stinking love nest.”

Then he turns and leaves, closing the door behind him.

Harry stares at the closed door. 

They’re… leaving?

And going where?

— 

A little over fifteen minutes later (after Harry spent a good bit of time flailing at the top of the bunk bed ladder, as always, glad that Louis wasn’t there to witness), Harry closes the screen door of the cabin behind him and treads up the path to the car. Louis’ there, leaning against the hood with a cigarette in his hands. 

He turns and gives an up-nod. “You ready?” he asks.

“Uh,” says Harry. “Yeah? Where’s Niall?”

Louis looks almost annoyed. “Niall’s not coming,” he says as if it was obvious. “You grabbed your camera?”

Harry motions to the strap over his shoulder. “Yeah,” he says, because he always has his camera, and glad to have apparently gotten this right. He wants to ask why Niall isn’t coming, but since this is apparently something he should have known already, he pretends like he’s not terribly, horrendously confused. Louis has  _ never _ attempted to hang out just the two of them. They’re both just peripheries on the opposite ends of the same friend group. 

Louis stubbs out his cigarette and Harry walks around to get into the passenger seat. It’s certainly a weird start to the day, he thinks to himself as Louis swings into the driver’s side. 

Louis’ got a location plugged into the map in his phone, apparently, because he puts it up on the mount attached to the dash before he starts the car and begins the long and winding process of leaving the little strip of land between the reservoir and the lake. As they make their way out of the steep driveway, Harry starts to catch whiffs of something akin to lemon thyme; Louis’ scent that’s been hidden under the layers of Liam and Zayn all over the house.

It’s a breath of fresh air in comparison, and suddenly Harry hopes he remembered to put on deodorant. He did, didn’t he?

Then he also wonders whether Niall knows they’ve left. 

It’s Niall’s car, so surely Niall knowingly gave Louis the keys, Harry reasons to himself. He’s not sure why he needs to reason this, except he’s now sitting in the front seat of the car with only Louis, who is talkative with Niall and Liam and Zayn but now with only Harry around he’s completely silent. Is Louis going to murder him? Maybe he’s going to leave Harry in the woods somewhere and Harry will have to find his way to a payphone—

No. Harry’s cell phone is in his pocket, so it can’t be that. 

Louis didn’t even turn on the radio though! Would he mind if Harry turned it on? Harry hates driving in silence, it feels like wasted music time. Surely Louis wouldn’t mind if he… 

“Did you have coffee this morning?” Louis asks, breaking the silence. 

“Uh, no,” Harry says. He’d been lazing about in bed until about twenty minutes ago, after all.

“Good, first stop is a Starbucks,” Louis says, and then makes a sharp turn that has Harry falling against the door. 

He doesn’t reach for the aux cord, but he does note the travel time at the bottom of Louis’ phone screen;

1 hr 24 mins.

— 

Harry’s got a lot of friends in his photography classes. He’s reasonably well liked, and he gets along pretty well with everyone he meets. He’s known Niall since working a summer job with him waiting tables at a cafe where it rained too much to justify their open air seating, and he’s always been proud of how easily he can make Niall laugh. He’s got a good mix of all genders in his friend groups, not just alphas. 

But somehow, Louis Tomlinson never seemed to take a shine to him. 

Harry, for what it’s worth, took a shine to Louis at the very beginning. After all, he’s  _ stunning _ and with a quick wit and electrifying personality to boot. Who wouldn’t immediately fall head over heels for him? 

And maybe that’s what it was, that Louis can have his pick of anyone he wants in his friend group and Harry just never rose high enough to make the cut. Whatever it was, their interactions have always been… stilted. Awkward. Filled with Harry trying to make remarks that anyone else would laugh at, only to be met with a blank stare from Louis. 

(That stare made Harry want to hide under a rock). 

So as far as he can tell Louis doesn’t  _ dislike _ him, they just… never ended up on the same wavelength. 

Which is why Harry is so confused as to how he ended up on a road trip with Louis to… wherever they’re going. And Starbucks. 

Also, Louis has made four wrong turns so far in the forty five or so minutes they’ve been on the road. The GPS woman’s voice has become very familiar, continually  _ recalculating _ as he misses exits or turns too early. 

**Harry:** _ So _ _   
_ **Harry:** _ Did you know Louis and I are going on a road trip _

**Niall:** _ ?? _ _   
_ **Niall:** _ I mean he did ask me if he could use the car so I mean yeah? _

**Harry:** _ Do you know where we’re going? _

**Niall:** _ No where r u going _

**Harry:** _ No like I literally don’t know _ _   
_ **Harry:** _ Niall help _

**Niall:** _ Be a normal person and ask him then _ _   
_ **Niall:** _ JFC you two are both the worst _

Harry runs his fingers along the zipper to his camera case, staring out the window at the dense, tall forest of coniferous trees around them in the heart of upstate New York. His feet are on the dash and he’s pushed the seat back a bit to have room to spread out. 

It startles him when Louis finally breaks the silence. 

“Starbucks,” he says, and Harry feels the car veer right.

“Starbucks,” Harry replies. He sits up and realises they’ve reached a small town, the trees clearing as they slow to match the speed limit. 

“Do you know what you want?” Louis asks as the Starbucks — the newest looking thing in this town, from what Harry can tell — comes into view. 

“I always just get the first thing I see that looks good on the menu,” Harry says. Louis raises his eyebrows and then lets out a long, drawn-out breath as if the very idea of that is taxing. 

He pulls up to the drive-through (apparently they aren’t going inside), and rolls down the window, ordering a venti pink drink for himself and then looking at Harry expectantly. 

Under pressure, Harry scans the menu and then leans over to Louis’ side, ordering a cloud macchiato. He has no idea what it is, but the idea of a cloud in a drink is fairly delightful.

“That drink is disgusting,” Louis says as they pull up to the window. 

Then, before Harry even has the app open on his phone, Louis pays for both their drinks. 

“I could have paid for myself,” Harry says, frowning as he pockets his phone.

Louis hands over his drink. “Could’ve gotten a better drink, too,” he says. 

Harry doesn’t respond. He sips his drink (it’s not bad), and wonders if he should’ve just turned Louis down and stayed in bed earlier. He’s really not sure what he’s doing here. 

They drive on again, the landscape moving back from town to trees, with the occasional hand painted sign on the side of the road for fresh berries, or moose crossing, and at one point a family of turkeys that Harry wishes he’d had his camera out in time for. 

He wouldn’t say he’s  _ uncomfortable _ with the silence exactly, but it  _ is  _ nagging at him. 

He doesn’t say anything, though. 

Because he’s just not sure what he’s supposed to say.

— 

They’ve reached another small town, with a river running next to the main road. Louis pulls the car off to a side street and slows down. “We’re here,” he says, swerving into an empty parking lot that seems to be connected to a large abandoned factory.

“We are?” Harry asks, looking around. 

Across on the other side of the street is a set of old train tracks with a small station, equally deserted. It’s quiet and a little eerie. Harry’s mind races through possibilities. Is this… hazing? Is he being hazed? It’s an odd time for it, considering the school year just finished and also neither of them are in greek life (and even if they were, Louis would be in an omega sorority, not an alpha fraternity).

“Louis?” Harry asks slowly as they both get out of the car. “Where are we?”

Louis pulls a cigarette from the pack in his pocket and lights it. “Saranac,” he says. “Saranac Lake, I think, technically.”

“Okay…” Harry says. Because that offers no more relevant information than he really had before.

“Come on,” Louis says, leading them back toward town and away from the empty lot and train station. 

Harry follows.

— 

Louis leads them through a park and across a street to a brightly painted cylindrical building. Once they’re actually in town, it becomes a lot less creepy and a lot more like a normal summer day in a small town where people do not get hazed or murdered. The weather’s nice, and there are children all around, their parents herding them one way or another. 

Louis, at the last minute, grabs Harry’s hand and drags him up to the front steps of the building. Harry freezes a little at the feeling, his skin is so soft and his grip is like steel. 

“We’re here!” Louis says, pushing open the door. 

Harry steps in after him and sees… a carousel?

It’s huge and bright and instead of only horses, the animals on it are all unique — a rabbit, a dragonfly, some sort of… bobcat?

“We’re here,” Harry repeats faintly. “At… a carousel.”

“Yeah,” Louis says, looking proud.

“...Why?” Harry gets out, because he’s just so  _ confused _ at this point.

Louis frowns. “Because I thought you’d like it,” he says, circling his arms around his chest. His soft lemon thyme scent goes a bit bitter.

“Like you thought I’d like a sugary drink the other day?” Harry asks, turning to face him. “Like you always make comments when I wear pink or more feminine clothes? Did we come out here just so you could mock me?”

Louis’ mouth drops open, and he stumbles back a step. “I—” he stumbles. “I never  _ mocked _ you—”

“You laughed at me yesterday when I tripped over a step on the way down to the dock!”

“Yeah, because I’m an  _ asshole,”  _ Louis says, “Because I laugh at my friends! I don’t— I wanted to take you somewhere you’d want to take pictures of! Niall told me he used to go here as a kid!”

Harry is becoming increasingly aware that there are people around them who are clearly pretending not to be as interested as they are, but he’s just  _ confused _ . “Why?” he asks. “But why me? This was an hour and a half drive!”

“Because I weaseled my way into this trip  _ specifically to get up the courage to ask you out!” _ Louis all but yells. “Because Niall’s been mocking  _ me _ for  _ months  _ because every time you come around I act like a total idiot!”

“What?” Harry asks, taking a step back. “But— you’re not—”

“I’m terrible at giving compliments,” Louis says, putting his hands up to his face. “You’re not afraid to wear things that aren’t stereotypically alpha and I  _ love _ that but every time I try to talk to you it all comes out wrong, or you look at me and I just can’t open my mouth or else I’ll say something about how good you smell like a total creep!” He groans, covering his eyes. “I was hoping this would work  _ instead _ of having to say words. I can say so many words but they’re all bullshit coming out of my mouth.”

He storms out the door and leaves Harry momentarily standing alone at the entrance to the carousel, cheery music playing from the loudspeakers.

Harry has to take a minute to align his thoughts with this new knowledge.

Then he has to run after Louis.

Even while walking Louis goes surprisingly fast, and Harry has to run to catch up with him. 

“Louis!” He calls, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to stop and turn. “Fuck— you’re fast,” he takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry I thought you hated me and-slash-or thought you were cooler than I was!”

“I’m a little cooler than you are,” Louis says, sounding miserable as he gazes at the sidewalk between them.

“That’s fair,” Harry says. “But I’m sorry and you’re right this is a very nice carousel now that I know it’s not part of a sinister plot.” He reaches out and grabs Louis’ hand. “Would you be willing to ride it with me?”

“If I do, are you going to show everyone the pictures?” Louis asks.

“Probably,” Harry says. “But if it’s a date then we can discuss that kind of thing.”

“I just fucking— emotionally vomited all over you, and you want to go out with me?” Louis asks, eyeing him warily. “Is this a pity date because I drove you to the middle of nowhere and now you’ll have to sit in a car with me for another hour and a half after this?”

“It’s not, although I can’t make any sort of romantic promises like ubering back to prove it to you because I don’t think any ubers would take me that far,” Harry says. “But I’ll pay for the ride, if that helps?”

“I brought exact change,” Louis says. “And I paid for your Starbucks. That’s the whole point.”

Harry grasps his hand tighter. “So is that a yes?” he asks.

Louis purses his lips. “I guess so,” he says. “I want to pick out which animal you ride on, though.”

(Louis chooses the loon for Harry to ride on, but that means he has to ride the tortoise in order to sit next to him).

(They ride it three times and the last time they sit on the horses because those are the only animals that don’t move up and down, which makes it much easier to kiss).

— 

On the last day at the lake house, Harry’s alarm is set for five thirty, because he wants a few good shots of the sunrise over the lake. He turns it off and struggles his best out of bed (but misses the last step on the ladder and lands on the ground with a loud thump). 

He makes a cup of instant coffee (because there’s no real coffee maker here), and with a yawn makes his way out into the pre-morning darkness and over the hill to the lake.

He’s only just cleared a space at the end of the dock when he hears the sound of footsteps over the ridge behind him, and he turns to find Louis following him down.

“Hey,” Louis yawns. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Harry scoots over to give him room to sit. “Getting a few shots of the sunrise,” he says. 

“Give me your coffee,” Louis says, reaching over and plucking the cup from his hands.

“Is this what dating you is like?” Harry asks.

“Is that what we’re doing?” 

“I mean if you’re stealing my coffee I’d rather hope so.”

Louis leans against him, buried under two different hoodies and with Harry’s mug in his hands, he’s significantly warmer than Harry is, and his scent is sweet and familiar.

“I suppose,” Louis says, and yawns again. 

Harry misses a lot of the sunrise as he tries to take sneaky pictures of Louis’ sleeping face.

**Author's Note:**

> The adirondack carousel is very cute but a weird thing to go all the way to saranac lake for, so I suggest visiting it on your way to the touristy destination of Lake Placid, where there is another Starbucks.


End file.
